Cloth-cutting machine.



No. 806,311. PATENTED DEC. 5, 1905. G. L. BALLARD. CLOTH CUTTINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.8,1904.

2 SHEETESHEET 1.

No. 806,311. PATENTED DEC.5,1905.

G. L. BALLARD.

CLOTH CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.8,1904.

$HEETS-SHBBT 2. l

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE LAWSON BALLARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BALLARDBROTHERS, OF ROCHESTER, NEWV YORK, A FIRM.

CLOTH-CUTTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

Application filed December 3, 1904. Serial No. 236,033.

T0 at whmn it flea/y concern.-

, Be it known that I, GEORGE LAwsoN BAL- LARD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Rochester, New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Cloth- Outting Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to electrically-operated cloth-cutting machines ofthe class in which the cutting apparatus is moved over a table uponwhich is piled the goods to be cut, the cutting-knife being operated byan elec trical motor carried by the machine.

.My invention concerns various features of improvement designed to makethe machine simple in construction and more efficient in operation andcapable of being handled by the operator with comparative ease.

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical sectionalview of the apparatus from front to rear, some of the parts, however,being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is an end view looking from the rightof Fig. 1 of motor mechanism with its casing and associated parts. Fig.3 is a plan View of the machine with parts in section and parts omitted.Fig. 4 is a front View of part of the machine looking from the left ofFig. 1. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the standard and a portion ofthe base-plate and throat-plate. Fig. 6 is a detail elevation of one ofthe bearing-plates for the rollers. Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of thesaid bearing-plate.

The cutting-knife 1 is substantially the same as that usually employedin this class of machines, it being guided to move vertically in astandard 2, extending up from a base-plate 3, in which the said standardis secured by having its flange 4 screw-threaded into a socket 5, formedin the base-plate. This standard supports the casing 6, which containsthe motor for driving the cuttingknife. Connection with this motor issecured by a driving-rod 7, which is screwed at its upper end into across-head or block 8, guided in a slideway consisting of verticalguide-bars 9, which are secured at their upper ends to a bracket 10,extending up from the main frame or casing 6, and at their lower endsthe said guide-bars are secured to the projection 11, carried by thecross-plate 12, which in turn is secured to the flange or for wardextension 13 of the casing. This crosshead or slide-block has a pin 14extending rearwardly, which carries at its end a slideblock 15, movingin a guideway 16, extend ing vertically of the bracket 10. This pinaffords means of connection with the pitman 17, which is pivoted on thepin at its upper end and at its lower end is provided with a pin 18,extending into the crank-arm 19, which latter is secured to themotor-shaft 20. The pitrnan is held within the crank by a screw 21 and anut 22, the head of the screw being countersunk, as shown, and the nutfitting partly within the opening in the crankpin, so as to make acompact arrangement of parts and keep the length of the machine down toa minimum. The shaft 20 of the motor turns in a bearing or sleeve 23,held within the main frame, which for this purpose is provided with aboss 24, threaded internally to receive the said sleeve which isexternally threaded and when screwed therein is held in place by alock-nut 25. The motor-shaft carries the commutator 26, and thiscommutator has attached thereto the armature 27. The commutator issecured upon the portion of the shaft which extends beyond the bearingsleeve 23, and the armature overhangs this bearing-sleeve and a part ofthe boss 24 so that a compact construction is thus pro vided. The shaftis provided with a flange 27, adapted to bear on the end of the sleeve23. The armature-brushes 28 are carried in hollow holders 29, which aresecured to a bracket 30 by screws 31, extending vertically through thebracket and into the hollow holders. Insulating-disks 32 and aninsulating-sleeve 33 are provided at the screws, and the arrangement issuch that in case of these screws becoming loose the swinging of thebrush-holder will not displace the brush in relation to the commutatorsections. The brushes are pressed against the commutator by means ofsprings 34, the said springs consisting of coils 35, having arms, onearm carrying a cross-piece 36, the reduced ends of which are adapted tofit in slots 37 of the brush-holder, and the other arm of the springalso carrying a cross-pin 40, adapted to bear on the end of the brushand press the same inwardly.

The base-plate of the machine is provided ICC with rollers 41, held in amanner as hereinafter described, and the machine runs upon these rollerswhen at work. In order to move the machine and properly direct it, ahandle 42 is provided, which extends from the rear of the machine and isgrasped by the operator, who thus forces the machine over the table anddirects it accurately to the pattern to be cut from the goods. Oneimportant feature of my invention is that the motor has its bearingsentirely within the casing of the machine, and no back bearing isnecessary, and therefore the operator may grasp the handle close up tothe casing and the motor, and thus he may maintain better control of themachine and more accurately direct its movements in connection with thework. In order to protect the hand of the operator and prevent contactwith any parts of the motor, I provide a guard 43, consisting of arms44, extending laterally of the machine and attached to the cover 45 byscrews 46, and also an arm 44, extending downwardly to near the handleand also attached to the rear of the motor.

As above stated, the base-plate of the machine is provided with rollers.These rollers are carried in bearings 47 of rings 48, which are heldwithin thickened portions 49 of the baselate by means of screws 50, theheads of whlch overlie a portion of the bearing-ring and fit intorecesses 51 in the lower face of the same. The base-plate is providedwith flanges 52 of segmental form, extending downwardly therefrom withinthe thickened portions 49, thus forming annular grooves, and in theseannular grooves rings 53, preferably of rubbe, rare placed, said ringsproviding a resilient backing for the bearingrings of the rollers, andthus providing a yielding bearing for the rollers adapted to take up thevibration of the machine. These rubber rings, together with the bearinrings, provide a compact arrangement affor ing yielding bearings for therollers.

The base-plate of the machine is provided with a throat-plate 53* forthe knife to work in, the said throat-plate being formed separately fromthe standard and being held in place within a recess 54 of thebase-plate by a screw 55. The throat-plate is slotted at 56, and it isalso threaded at 57 X to fit the threads of the standard. The standardis flanged at 57 at its base, and this provides a hollow 5S thereunder.At one side the flange is provided with a radial groove 59, whichcommunicates with the slot 56 in the throatplate and with the openingbelow the throat-plate, so that any cuttings which fall below thethroat-plate may pass through the slot 59, and thus pass away from thecutting-point and from the knife, preventing the latter from beingclogged or choked in its operation.

As before stated, the throat-plate is inde pendent of the standard. Thisconstruction allows a stronger standard to be used, as the base-flangeor foot of the standard does not have to be cut away to answer thepurpose of a throat-plate. This base-flange of the standard is ofcircular form and lies mostly toward the rear of the standard oppositeto the point at which the throat-plate is secured. The throat-plate bythe construction described may be readily removed.

The presser-foot for pressing upon the cloth is shown at 60. This iscarried at the lower end of a bar 61, extending vertically through theboss or bracket 1], carried by the casing of the machine. Thispresser-bar is provided with worm-teeth 63, adapted to be engaged by aworm 64 on the lower end of a shaft 65. I prefer to arrange this shaftvertically, as shown, and it turns in a bearing 66 near its upper endand in the bracket 11 at its lower end. It is provided witha fingerpiece67 at its upper end, by which it may be turned. By arranging this shaftvertically with the finger-piece at its upper end the presser-foot maybe raised and lowered with out bringing the hand of the operator intoproximity with the cutting-knife, which might result in injury thereto.

In order to lock the presser-foot at any point at which. it may beadjusted, I provide a wing-nut 68, adapted to press the front plate 69of the bracket 11 firmly against the front face of the bar 61, and thushold the said bar in place. The plate 69 is held to the bracket byscrews 70 and is so arranged that it will spring slightly outwardly whenthe pressure from the wing-nut is relieved, so that the presser-foot baris then free to be adjusted up or down.

I provide means for sharpening the knife during the operation thereof,the said means consisting of an emery-wheel 71, j ournaled on a bracket72, which is loosely carried by the presser-bar 61. The bracket is freeto turn about the said presser-bar and the emerywheel is placed in suchangular relation to the vertical axis of the bracket as will bring thesaid emery-wheel in proper relation to the cutting edge to secure theproper sharpening effect. The emery-wheel is of frusto-conical form, andwhen placed against the knife it has a grinding eflect thereon and notsimply a rolling action. It is of course turned by its contact with thereciprocating knife; but its axis being at an incline to the line ofreciprocation of the knife the grinding effect is secured As abovedescribed, the knife-driving bar is guided by its cross-head and also bythe sliding block 15, arranged in rear of the pitman connection. Thisconstruction is of im portance, as all side strain to which the knife issubjected will be resisted and the parts will be accurately guided, soas to hold the knife in correct position and accurately to the line tobe followed. This construction .also enables wear to be taken up, as theguidebars 9 when worn may be filed off at the points where they aresecured to the frame, and thus be set in to compensate for the wear.

As a means of oiling the parts I provide the motor-shaft with a centralduct 73, the inner end. of which is connected by a lateral port 7 4 withthe crank-pin on the pitman, so that in the revolution of the parts thelubricant introduced into the central duct will find its way to thecrank-pin socket, and thus lubricate the crank-pin. Ports are alsoprovided at 75, leading to the interior of the bearing-sleeve 23, so asto lubricate the hearing for the motor-shaft. The-wrist-pin islubricated from a lubricant cup or socket 7 6, formed in the upper partof the cross-head or slide-block 8. This cup or socket is provided atits upper end. with a cover 77 of special construction and arrangementconsisting of a small plate having a central opening with a flangedepending around the said opening into the cup. I prefer to fillthe cupwith some absorbent material which will aid and hold the lubricantinplace. The purpose of the flange is to prevent the lubricant from flyingout under the rapid reciprocation of the cross-head or block. Thisoil-retaining cover is soldered within the oil-cup.

In order to lubricate the slideways of the cross-head, I form ports 77leading laterally from the oil-cup to the sides of the slide block orcross-head.

The crank-pin may be formed integral with or fixed to the pitman, and,as above noted, it is wholly within the crank. By this the crank isbrought nearer to its work and a stronger and stiffer construction isafforded. The machine is also thereby shortened. A suitable bushingsurrounds the crank-pin.

The wrist-pin 14 is held to the pitman by having the latter split, as at79, at its upper end, the pin passing through the split portion and ascrew 80 drawing the split sections together.

I do not wish to limit myself to the use of one emery-wheel, as two maybe used, as desired, one on each side of the knife. When one emery-wheelis used, however, it is simply necessary to swing the bracket on thePresser-bar, so as to position the emerywheel on first one side and thenthe other of the knife to get the diagonal grinding effect on theknife-edge. When two wheels are combined with the machine, only one isused at a time.

In constructing the motor I have sought to provide a simple arrangementof parts, and for holding the field-coils in place I provide pieces ofstiff fiber, (indicated at which are slightly arched and are sprung intoplace with their edges bearing against the I prefer to place in the ductof the motorshaft a perforated plug which while allowing theintroduction of the lubricant into the said duct will prevent itsdischarge at the outer end of the shaft.

In machines of this class it has been customary to arrange an electriclamp adjacent the cutting-knife, so that nightwork may be carried on.These lamps have been carried by a bracket with their axes horizontal.In this position under the vibration which necessarily exists fromrunning machines of this kind there is great liability of breakage ofthe filament, as it extends in substantially a horizontal plane and issupported at the ends. In order to overcome this difficulty, I supportthe lamp, as shown at 76, in a socket whose axis is vertical, and thelamp thus depends from the socket and the filament extends downwardlyfrom its points of support, and is thus not liable to be broken underordinary conditions.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine,a base-plate, a standard, a vertically reciprocating knife, a drive rodconnected with the knife, a motor-shaft, a crank thereon, a pitmanhaving a pin entering a socket in the crank, means for holding the saidpin therein with the pitman and drive-rod close to the face of the crankand a wrist-pin connection between the pitman and the kniferod,substantially as described.

2. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine, the knife, the drive-rodfor the knife the motor-shaft, the crank on the motorshaft, the pitmanhaving a crank-pin within a socket in the crank, a countersunk screwpassing through the pin and a nut for holding the pin whereby the pitmanand drive-rod may work close to the face of the crank, substantially asdescribed.

3. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine, a base-plate, a standard,a verticallyreciprocating knife, a vertically-reciprocating drive-rod, acasing or frame on the standard, a motor carried in the frame and havinga shaft, a crank on the shaft, a pitman connected with the crank andextending upwardly therefrom, a cross-head or slide-block connected withthe upper end of the driverod of the knife, slideways in which the saidblock moves, a wrist-pin connecting the pit man and the cross-head orslide-block at the upper end of the pitman, a guideway in rear of thepitman and a block on the wrist-pin moving in the said guideway tocontrol the upper ends of the drive-rod and pitman, substantially asdescribed.

4. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine, a base-plate, a standard,a knife, means for driving the knife, a presser-foot, a toothedpresser-bar extending vertically and guided through a portion of theframe, a worm engaging the toothed bar and a shaft extending Verticallyfrom the said worm and having means at its upper end for operating theshaft, substantially as described.

5. In combination, in a cloth-cutting machine, a base-plate, a standard,a cutting knife, means for operating the presser-bar, a guidewayfor theresser-bar a plate extending across said guideway and adapted to springslightly away from the presser-bar to release the same, and means forforcing and holding the plate so as to pinch the presserbar,substantially as described.

6. In combination, in a cloth-cutting machine, a cutting-knife, meansfor operating the same, a resser-foot, and means associated with thesaid presser-foot for sharpening the knife, substantially as described.

7. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine, a base-plate, a standard,a cuttingknife, means for operating the same, a presserfoot, apresser-bar and a knife-sharpening device swiveled on the presser-bar,substantially as described.

8. In combination in a cloth-cutting machine, a reciprocatingcutting-knife, a presserfoot, a presser-bar, a bracket swiveled on thepresser-bar and a sharpening-wheel set at an inclination of the bracketto have a diagonal action on the knife as the same reciprocatesVertically, substantially as described.

9. In combination in avcloth-cutting machine, a frame, a knife, a shaftbearing in the frame, a crank-arm on the shaft, connections between thesame and the knife, means for driving the shaft, and a duct leadinglongitudinally through the shaft, a duct extending at right angles atits forward end through part of the shaft and the crank and to thecrank-pin whereby the centrifugal force will feed the lubricant to thecrank-pin, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE LAWSON BALLARD.

I/Vitnesses OWEN BALLARD, JosEPH C. WITZEL.

